The ultimate sacrifice - Part 2
by MissEclipse
Summary: These events take place shortly after the episode "Family Reunion". Face is given hope that his momma is still alive. But does Murdock have evidence to prove otherwise? Might help if you have read Part 1, but hopefully the recap and Chapter 1 will make recent events clear.
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: The A-Team world belongs to Mr Stephen J Cannell (RIP)_**

[ _Recap from Part 1 – Warning: contains Spoilers!: Face is kidnapped by Colonel Thomas Radcliffe, an associate with Mafia connections, who worked with his father, AJ Bancroft on several assignments. Radcliffe is anxious to get his hands on Bancroft's diary, and blackmails Face into acquiring it from General Stockwell._ _A dangerous game then ensues, as Face is used as a pawn between The Mob and General Stockwell._ _Radcliffe's accomplice, Italian hitman, Vincent Luciano, is the son of one of the fathers who was fleeced by AJ and ends up having his own personal vendetta against Face._ _Keeping him on his side until he exacts his revenge, it is Murdock who thinks he has found out the real truth about what happened to Face's mom._ ]

 **Chapter 1: Cover story**

[ _Timeline: January 1987_ ]

[ _Warning: Text in italics are extracts from conversations that took place in Part 1, which contain strong language._ ]

Sitting up in bed, Murdock rubbed his temples at the side of his head, partly out of frustration and partly out of exhaustion. He hadn't slept or eaten properly since he had found out from Mobster, Vincent Luciano, a couple of weeks ago, that Face's mom had died from a drugs' overdose back in 1955.

Christmas had come and gone and Face was beginning to recover from his injuries inflicted by Luciano. Despite almost being killed at the hands of the crazed Italian, the Lieutenant was in fairly high spirits. This was due to the fact that before exacting his revenge, Luciano had given Face a photograph of his momma as a form of blackmail, giving him hope that she was still alive.

It didn't help that Face kept flashing the darned thing around proudly at any given opportunity. Jeez, it was all Murdock could do to stop himself from ripping it up into a million pieces. He immediately felt guilty as he remembered how excited his buddy was to show it to him.

 _"_ _Luciano gave it to me. I'm not sure how he got it, but he seemed to know things about her, Murdock._ _He said that when AJ ran out on us, half the Mob was looking for him._ _When they couldn't find him, they came after me and mom._ _I think that's why she left me at the orphanage._ _She didn't abandon me – she was trying to protect me!"_

In his bedridden state, Face had asked Murdock to follow up the lead. So Murdock had visited Luciano in the security facility, where he had been taken after he had tried to kill the Lieutenant. The revelations that he had uncovered had chilled the pilot to the bone.

He shut his eyes tight as if trying to block the memory out, but to no avail. His unnerving conversation with Luciano constantly invaded his thoughts without warning. He had a very different version of events about Face's mom to the one he had previously told Face. Murdock cringed as he remembered the sarcastic revulsion in the slimeball's voice.

 _"_ _Well, she'd know all about family honour! Boy, the things she did to protect her little boy held no bounds!"_

 _"_ _What do you mean? I thought you told Peck his mother kept half the Mob from their doorstep."_

 _"_ _I only gave Peck the fairytale version. Oh yeah, she was smart and one hell of a looker!_ _She moved constantly around and changed her name so she couldn't be tracked down._ _But towards the end she was nothing more than a dirty whore, who got her kicks from shooting up whenever she got the chance._ "

Murdock's stomach flipped over again as Luciano's words exploded around his head. He hadn't wanted to believe what he was saying, but Luciano delivered an even bigger blow with his next revelation.

" _Did Peck ever wonder where I got that picture from? My father pulled it out of her grasp when he found her lying dead from a heroin overdose._ _According to Pops, Peck wasn't with her when they found her body._ _For all I know, she could still be rotting away in that stinking, dirty grovel she lived in!_ "

The Captain shuddered, involuntarily. After everything that his buddy had been through over the last few weeks, he didn't have the heart to tell him the truth about his mom. I mean, how exactly do you tell someone you have come to love like a brother, that his mom had probably ended up as a drug addict and prostitute when she died? In his fragile state – high on painkillers and half beaten up by that cockroach, Luciano – there was no telling what he might have done.

The words had stuck in his throat as he had lied to protect the vulnerable conman. After all, at least part of what the Italian mobster had said had been true.

 _"_ _She's everything Luciano said she was Faceman. She was smart, beautiful and completely devoted to her son."_

" _Does he know what happened to her?_ "

" _I'm sorry, buddy. She had to keep moving around and changing her name._ _Chances are she'll never be found now._ _I'm so sorry, muchacho."_

" _Thanks, Murdock – I knew I could rely on you._ "

Murdock slumped back down on his bed again. It was bad enough that he hadn't told Face that AJ Bancroft was his father. Now he was lying to him about his mom being alive. As the words of Face and Luciano mingled together in his mind, a fusion of disharmony, guilt and turmoil overwhelmed him.

For the sake of his own insanity and out of respect for Face, he knew he would have to put things right, one way or another.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Cat amongst the pigeons**

Murdock sat rather nervously on the settee next to Face. He had been picked up from his apartment just after breakfast by one of the Ables and brought to the house in Langley for an impromptu meeting with General Stockwell. All the team were also present.

Hannibal, sitting directly opposite him, couldn't help observing how fatigued he looked. It hadn't gone unnoticed by the shrewd Colonel that Murdock had avoided coming to the house over the last week. Bearing in mind that Face was still recovering from his injuries, Hannibal had been surprised that the pilot had chosen to stay away from his buddy. Giving him a concerned glance, Hannibal could see a look of despondency in his Captain's eyes. Something wasn't quite right and Hannibal was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"I wonder what the old man wants?" enquired Frankie, breaking into Hannibal's thoughts. "Surely he's not gonna send us out on assignment with Face still only running on half gas?"

"Looks like we're about to find out," mumbled BA, nodding his head towards the opening door.

General Stockwell made his swift entrance into the room, accompanied by his personal assistant, Carla. Two of his Ables remained at the door. He sat down in a vacant armchair, whilst Carla stood behind him and addressed the team in his usual pompous manner.

"I have some news that will be of interest to you all," he said, his steely gaze only slightly obscured by his tinted glasses.

"I don't suppose this has got anything to do with us getting our pardons does it?" asked Hannibal, a sarcastic smirk on his face.

"In particular," continued Stockwell, choosing to ignore the Colonel's remark, "this will be something that will have great impact on Lieutenant Peck and ultimately the rest of the team."

The sarcastic smirk disappeared quickly from Hannibal's face and you could hear a pin drop as the team waited with bated breath to hear the impending news.

"One of my junior subordinates has been informed by a marshal of The Witness Protection Program, that Peck's mother, Samantha Bancroft, has been in their custody since early 1960," reported Stockwell. "She was placed on the Program for her own safety after it transpired that her life was in danger due to her connection with AJ Bancroft."

The stunned expression conveyed by Face and the rest of the team was surpassed only by the frenzied outburst by Murdock.

"No!" he shouted in alarm, jumping to his feet in protest. "That can't be right. It's gotta be a trap. Face's mom is … we don't know what … no, it's gotta be a trap!"

"Shut ya jibber-jabber, fool!" warned BA. "You ain't no authority on Face's momma!"

"But … but BA, you … you don't understand!" stammered Murdock. "It … it … it just don't make no sense, is all!"

"Well I can assure you, Captain, that the claim appears to be valid," confirmed Stockwell. "And what is more, she is insisting on seeing Lieutenant Peck."

Everyone stared at Face, who seemed totally dumbfounded by the news. Hannibal, on the other hand, was staring intently at Murdock, who looked like he'd been knocked for six by Stockwell's announcement.

"Why do you think it's a trap, Murdock?" he enquired cautiously, trying to calm down his extremely skittish Pilot.

Murdock's eyes widened in panic, as he attempted to rein in his emotions. As much as he wanted to relieve himself of the burden of his secret, this wasn't the time or place to be revealing sensitive information about Face's mom. Face deserved to hear about it first.

Plus now he was confused. Maybe a part of him desperately wanted to believe that Luciano was lying. If there was a remote chance Face's momma was alive, then Murdock wasn't going to dismiss it without further investigation. After all, he only had that scumbag Luciano's word on the matter.

"Well, why would she come forward now?" he finally said, trying to steer clear of spurting out the truth. "And if she was thinking about witness protection, why didn't she take Face with her? Why did she leave him at the orphanage?"

"No, wait a minute, Murdock," said Face excitedly, suddenly coming to life after his stunned silence. "There was no witness protection scheme as such back in the 50s."

"Peck is correct," verified Stockwell. "The Federal Witness Protection Program didn't come into force until 1961. Then in 1970 it became known as the Witness Security Program."

"Yeah, and I guess now that AJ is dead, there is no need for her to stay in hiding," enthused Face.

"Just seems a bit strange that she never tried to get in touch with you over the years," pondered Murdock.

"I'm afraid that would have been against the rules of the Program, Captain," said Stockwell. "She could have put herself and Peck in great peril if she had tried to make contact with him and probably been expelled from the Program."

"So what did she do before she joined the Program," persisted Murdock.

"I'm guessing she still took her chance with the FBI or the Drug Enforcement Agency," said General Stockwell. "But they would have been no match for the Mafia had they found out her location. Plus, if she had testified against Bancroft or his associates, she wouldn't have been offered the level of protection they do now."

"So what Luciano told me was the truth," gushed Face with pride. "My mom was trying to protect me. She sacrificed everything just so that the Mob wouldn't find me."

"How come you didn't know about this, Stockwell?" asked Hannibal, suspiciously.

"Witness Protection is not my usual jurisdiction," replied Stockwell, stiffly. "In fact, this puts my organisation in a very awkward situation. We don't need this sort of exposure. Plus you realise this could also jeopardise your position? If word gets out that I have the A-Team, there will be very little I can do to keep the military police - or the CID who are investigating your disappearance - out of the picture."

"You can't stop me from seeing her!" rebuked Face angrily.

"I think you will find I can," replied Stockwell, smugly. "But in this instance I think it will do more harm than good. Otherwise, I fear that this will just bring on another media circus surrounding the A-Team and AJ Bancroft."

"I think maybe Murdock has a good point, though," backtracked Hannibal. "How did this marshal know where to come looking for Face?"

"It's now public knowledge that the A-Team escaped from execution," said Stockwell. "I have done everything in my power to keep you hidden from the authorities. But everyone has their price when it comes to money, power and a chance to climb up the ranks. Of course, at the moment, my name has not been directly linked with the team and I would like to keep it that way. Any further communication will be through my junior subordinate, who also doesn't even realise my involvement with you."

"And you can trust this man?" questioned Hannibal.

"Like, I said, Colonel," reiterated Stockwell. "Everyone has a price when it comes to discretion. This is a chance we take if we let Samantha Bancroft see Lieutenant Peck. But rest assured, I will do everything in my power to protect my investment."

"So what you are saying is, I can see my momma, but it won't be long-term?" said Face, frowning in frustration.

"Only why you are still doing things my way," said Stockwell. "One would assume you wouldn't run out on your team before then, Lieutenant?"

Face lowered his head, slightly embarrassed by Stockwell's words. The thought of leaving the team had actually crossed his mind during their last mission. He was beginning to doubt that Stockwell would ever give them their pardons. But after a couple of unsuccessful attempts of breaking free, he had been unable to walk out on his buddies.

"Face understands there will be repercussions," said Hannibal, immediately trying to cover up the conman's humiliation. He hadn't blamed Face for wanted to get away from Stockwell. It was just Face's way of letting off steam. When it came to the crunch, he knew he could totally depend on his second-in-command. "We all do. But have you got any actual proof that this really is Samantha Bancroft?"

Stockwell turned towards Carla and nodded his head at her. She delved into the folder she was carrying and brought out a photograph. She held it out towards Face, who immediately jumped forward and took it from her. The rest of the guys got up and peered curiously over his shoulder.

The photograph was of a woman in about her mid-50s. Her short hair appeared to be dyed brown, as there were indications of blonde roots growing through. Face presumed she had probably dyed it and cut it to change her appearance. Apart from the obvious signs of aging, she still seemed to resemble that of the lady in the photo that Luciano had given Face. And even with dark hair, there was no mistaking the similarities between her and the Lieutenant.

But it was the very distinctive vintage floral necklace of baby-blue moonstones and sparkling rhinestones, that caught the Lieutenant's eye.

"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing the necklace. "It's the same one that mom is wearing in the photo Luciano gave me! It's got to be her. It's just gotta be! Hannibal, if there's a chance she's my momma, I've gotta find out."

"I know, kid," said Hannibal. "I'm not gonna stop you from finding out Face, if that's what you really want."

Stockwell let out an irritable sigh, instructing Carla to get things moving. He reluctantly gave the file he had on Samantha Bancroft to Face, not seeing any reason to keep the information from him. He then got up, nodding pertly at the team, indicating the end of the meeting.

As Face was jabbering on with great excitement to Frankie, Murdock and BA, Hannibal took the moment to catch Stockwell as he was leaving.

"You better make sure nothing bad happens to Face, Stockwell," said Hannibal, in a low but threatening voice. "And if I ever find out that you knew more about this than you are letting on, I'm gonna let BA finish off what he started when we found Face messed up by that greasy Italian meatball!"

The General couldn't help gulping as he straightened his tie. The memory of BA pinning him against the barn when they had realised he had set Face up by giving him a fake diary, was still very vivid in his mind.

"Like I said, Colonel," he managed to calmly reply, shaking off Hannibal's firm hold on his arm. "I am only interested in protecting my investment."

Hannibal backed off and the General and his party made their leave. Looking back at his team, he couldn't help feeling a little bit apprehensive. He was pleased that Face might get a chance to find out about his mom, but at the same time, something just didn't sit right.

And judging by the look on Murdock's face, he wasn't the only one who had his suspicions.

 **[ _AN: thank-you for all the reviews and interest in the story so far. Please do continue to read and review if you can find the time._ ]**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Long shot**

The next day, a meeting was set up for Face to meet Samantha Bancroft. It was in mutual agreement with Hannibal and the team that he would meet with Samantha on his own. Hannibal (and Stockwell) couldn't risk the possibility of them all walking into a trap. Besides, Face would be discretely accompanied by Ables 8 and 9, who would be keeping an eye on the situation. His liaison with Samantha would take place the following day, as she would be flying in from a secret location, where she had been living since being put on the Witness Protection Program.

"You will be careful, won't you Facey?" fretted a worried Murdock. "We can't rule out the possibility that Luciano could be behind all this."

"Don't worry, Murdock," replied Face. "Luciano had his chance of revenge and failed. I don't suppose anyone else is going to be worried about a vendetta that took place over thirty years' ago now."

Murdock wasn't so sure. There were a number of things that he had reservations about. The necklace for one. If Samantha had been the drug addict that Luciano claimed she was, what was she still doing with the necklace? It was a very rare and valuable piece of jewellery. Surely she would have sold it so she could feed her habit?

Or maybe Stockwell did know more than he was letting on. He had already used Face to set Luciano up over AJ's Diary. And then there was Luciano himself. Murdock didn't trust that dirty rat, even if he was behind bars.

As Face would be gone for a few days, the rest of the team found themselves with further free time on their hands. Murdock knew he had to take this opportunity to discover as much as he could about " _Samantha Bancroft_ ". Finding an opportunity to speak with Hannibal on his own, he informed him of his plan.

"Colonel, Sir?" he ventured solemnly.

"Yes, Captain?" answered Hannibal, recognising the official – and serious - tone in Murdock's approach.

"There's someone I need to go and see," said Murdock. "I was wondering if you could square it with Stockwell for me."

"Is this anything to do with Samantha Bancroft?" enquired Hannibal.

Murdock chewed on his lip as he nodded his head tentatively.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" pressed Hannibal further.

"Maybe," said Murdock, twisting his cap nervously in his hands. "But I need to find out a few things for myself first. I'll probably only be away for a couple of days."

"OK, Murdock," concurred Hannibal. "I'll speak to Stockwell."

"Oh, and I'll need a small charter plane," said Murdock, looking a bit sheepish at the extra request. "I need to get to Florida as quickly as possible."

"Florida!" repeated Hannibal, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Isn't that where Ellen Bancroft lives?"

Murdock nodded again, realising there was no reason to try and hide the truth now that Hannibal was on to him!

"Isn't that a bit risky?" asked Hannibal. "What makes you think she'll even see you."

"Well, I've already spoken to her on the phone," said Murdock. "Face still has her number. She's agreed to see me. If I go now, I can see what I can find out before Face has his meeting tomorrow. But don't tell Face I'm going to see Ellen, Hannibal. I don't want him to worry. Just tell him I've got a shift at the Turkey Farm, or something!"

Hannibal pondered over the pilot's request for a few seconds. Although he would have liked Murdock to confide in him a little more, he totally trusted and respected his decision to want to do this on his own first. And if he had Face's back over something, then the Colonel would just have to wait until Murdock needed his help.

"OK, Captain," he said. "Leave it with me. But if you get into any trouble – or you think Face might be trouble - I want to know about it!"

"Yes, Sir!" replied Murdock, giving Hannibal a firm salute.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Murdock left for Florida that afternoon, arriving late into the evening. He had made arrangements to meet up with Ellen the next day. He was still tired after his five hour flight from Washington, but nevertheless, he was keen to get on with his investigations. Arriving early at her house the next morning, he waited rather impatiently for her to get the children off to school and clear up after breakfast. Her husband had already left for work.

Ellen had welcomed him warmly into her home. Although her and Face had left their relationship on a rather indifferent and formal note, she was concerned about her half-brother, and was eager to help in any way she could.

"I hope this hasn't been a wasted journey for you, Murdock," she said, busily washing up the last of the breakfast things in the sink. "I really don't know if I'm going to be of much help."

"Well you mentioned on the phone that after AJ's death, some of his possessions had come back to you," said Murdock, grabbing a tea-towel to help dry up the dishes. "I'm hoping that maybe something might spring out at me!"

"That's right," said Ellen. "But I haven't had a chance to look through any of it. I guess I'm not too keen to delve into my father's past now."

"Yes, I understand," said Murdock. "I know this must be hard for you, Ellen, having to drag up your father's past again. I don't really know what I'm looking for, of if I will find it, but I just have to try."

"Why don't you believe that this woman is Samantha Bancroft?" asked Ellen.

"Well let's just say I have reasons to believe that she died back in 1955 – probably sometime after she left Face at the Orphanage," replied Murdock. "So if she is his momma, then I wanna make sure I don't put my big size 10s in it and mess it up for Face!"

"Why would somebody lie about it?" said Ellen. "I mean, you said all the facts and figures in the file Stockwell gave Templeton added up."

"I want to believe it is the truth," replied Murdock. "But there is a lot of people out there who have a grudge against the A-Team or could make a real nice profit out of handing us in. They could be using Face to do this."

"There's something else you're not telling me, Murdock," said Ellen, frowning with concern as she gave the sink a final wipe round.

Murdock sighed as he neatly replaced the wet tea-towel over the radiator. He hadn't told Ellen the whole truth about Luciano and what he had had told him. And he didn't want to frighten her unnecessarily, by telling her what had happened between Luciano and Face.

It had been a big shock to her when she had found out her father had been associated with the Mafia and that her half-brother was a fugitive on the run. Having been through a kidnap ordeal herself, Murdock knew that she still lived in fear that someone would come after her or her family. She had been Mrs Jackson for several years now, but in the world of the Mafia, she would always be known as Ellen Bancroft.

"I just need you to trust me on this, kimosabe," asserted Murdock. "Face won't thank me if I get you involved too much in this. But don't worry, this has got nothing to do with you or your family."

"I appreciate you keeping me out of this, but that's not what is worrying me," said Ellen, rather indignantly. "If Templeton is in danger, then of course I will do everything I can to help."

"I, know, thank-you," said Murdock, smiling politely at her. He didn't want to get into a personal conversation with Ellen about Face. It seemed to him that her concern for his buddy was rather a bit late in coming. The pilot had been angry when he had learned that she had basically shunned their relationship. But then she had her reasons and Face had accepted her decision. It was between them and he wasn't going to judge her for it now.

"I've got AJ's possessions in the attic room," said Ellen, quickly steering the conversation back on course, as she picked up on Murdock's awkwardness. "It's this way," she added, as she dried her hands on the towel on the way out of the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Family revelations**

Murdock eagerly followed Ellen up to the attic. She opened up a wooden chest, which was full of different pieces of memorabilia. Murdock sifted carefully amongst the various letters, photographs, official documents and personal souvenirs that AJ had collected throughout his life.

Ellen also curiously glanced through the pile of stuff that Murdock had discarded to one side. Having been 8 years old when her father left, she still had memories of family life with him. She was surprised to find that he had kept birthday cards that she had made for him when she was younger, as well as drawings that she had painted and little Christmas decorations that she had brought home from school. There were also various family photos of AJ with both Samantha and Ellen's mother and separate photos of her and Face at various ages, up until he had left them. She picked up another bundle of photos, that Murdock hadn't looked at yet.

"Hey, look Murdock!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Here's a photo of Templeton in his Special Forces' uniform."

Murdock took the photo from Ellen and looked at it in surprise. Turning it over he saw it just had 1969 written on the back.

"Well wouldn't you know it," he said. "Looks like Daddy Bancroft was keeping an eye on his little boy after all!"

"I wonder why he didn't want to tell Temp that he was also his father?" wondered Ellen.

"Huh!" said Murdock. He had been lost in thought and missed what Ellen had said.

"I said, I wonder why he didn't tell Temp he was his father?" repeated Ellen. "I mean, he could have told us both together at the same time."

"I guess we'll never know that now, muchacha," said Murdock. "He certainly seemed to be a bit of an enigma! Look, this photo of Face looks like it could have been taken at the Orphanage and here's another one of him at Fort Bragg."

"And here's a photo of me on my wedding day and a few of the children when they were babies," gasped Ellen, as she continued looking through the pile of photos. She looked at Murdock rather apprehensively as she added in a worried voice, "how do you suppose he got hold of them?"

Murdock was also a little taken back by their findings. AJ had taken a big chance in keeping hold of this stuff. Although there was nothing in the photos to give away any information as to who they were or where they had been taken, it wouldn't have looked good if they had fallen into the wrong hands. Of course, Murdock already knew that AJ had a photo of both Ellen and Face. He had seen it when they had met through the team's latest assignment. Would it be so hard to presume that he would have kept this stuff for sentimental reasons?

"You've got to remember that he was a very influential person," said Murdock, finally. "He could have got people to find out about the two of you and take these pictures without you even knowing about it. Or maybe he accumulated them in later years, when he thought it would be safe to find out about you both."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," said Ellen, her eyes filled with alarm.

"Don't worry," reassured Murdock, kindly. "There's nothing they can do to you now Ellen. AJ is dead and the Mafia know they would be shooting themselves in the foot to go after you again."

"But not Temp?" she said in a low voice.

"I don't know for sure that this has anything to do with the Mafia, Ellen," said Murdock, trying to sound firm and decisive. But the thought did play uneasily on his mind. If Luciano was still after revenge, would he make arrangements for someone to come after Ellen? He was glad he hadn't told her about the mobster's part in all this. He made a mental note to make sure Stockwell was keeping a watchful eye on Ellen and her family until this thing had blown over.

"You said Samantha Bancroft was on the Witness Protection Program," said Ellen. "I wonder why my mother and I weren't offered protection?"

"Could be that nobody was interested in what had happened to AJ by the time he married your mother," suggested Murdock. "Or maybe AJ didn't have to worry about the Luciano family coming after him anymore. He probably had bigger fish to fry by then and had people who could protect him."

"Hmmm!" remarked Ellen, in a disapproving voice. "I wonder if he knew Samantha had died? If he didn't, then officially he was still married to her when he married mum."

Murdock pulled a face in agreement at Ellen's remark. It was obvious that there was a lot more to AJ Bancroft than met the eye!

"Funny how there doesn't seem to be any more photos of Templeton after the Special Forces' photo was taken," observed Ellen. "But he kept photos of me right up until I met him."

"Well a lot happened after Vietnam," deliberated Murdock. "It would have been difficult for even AJ and his associates to keep up with Face after that."

"Although he did manage to find him in the end," reminded Ellen.

Not really knowing how to answer Ellen, Murdock just nodded his head gravely. How AJ knew Stockwell had the A-Team would always remain a mystery. But he had lived in a world that was alien to Murdock. A world that was full of lies, deceit and corruption and where AJ seemed to vanish and re-appear as if by magic. A world where he played by his own rules and yet somewhere deep down inside, he appeared to have a conscience. Maybe Face was more like his father than he realised!

Ellen picked up the photo of her half-brother in his uniform again and looked at it for a few seconds.

"Murdock," she said gently. "If you know something about Templeton's mother, you should tell him. Even if it's not what he wants to hear."

Murdock looked over at Ellen, a pain expression on his face.

"I … I don't want to hurt him," he said simply.

"I know," replied Ellen. "But one of the things Temp said to me when I was angry about AJ, was that even if I didn't like what I found out by talking to him, at least I would know the truth. We got our chance to sort out our differences, but Temp was cheated out of his opportunity to do the same."

"And now the same thing could happen with his mom," frowned Murdock. "If we find out this woman isn't Samantha Bancroft, then he'll never know what happened to her if I don't tell him the truth."

"Exactly," said Ellen.

Murdock gave Ellen an uneasy, but grateful smile, as he continued rummaging through the documents. They sat in silence as they continued their search, until Murdock suddenly caught sight of some personal looking documents.

"This looks like Samantha's Marriage License," he said, scanning the details briefly. "Bride - Samantha Jane Robinson … Groom - Andrew James Bancroft … father of bride – Matthew Robinson …"

His eyes were drawn towards the witnesses' names. "Joanne Marie Robinson," he murmured to himself, just loud enough for Ellen to hear him. "Joanne Robinson …. Joanne …"

Ellen and Murdock both looked at each anxiously as the penny dropped. Murdock continued looking through the personal pile of documents and came across several family photos of Samantha with her mum, dad and what looked like a girl a couple of years younger than herself. Their resemblance to each other was remarkable. The looked almost like twins, except that Samantha was visibly taller than Joanne.

"Samantha had a sister!" deduced Murdock. "And she looks almost identical to Samantha - just a couple of years younger." He stopped abruptly as he picked up another photo. It looked like it could have been taken at Face's Christening. Samantha was in the picture with Joanne, who was holding the then, baby Richard. Samantha was wearing the same floral necklace as in Face's photo given to him by Luciano.

"You think she is the woman in the picture General Stockwell gave Templeton? asked Ellen, realising the implications to what Murdock was saying.

Murdock nodded furiously.

"What are you going to do?" asked Ellen

"I've got to tell Hannibal about this straightaway," said Murdock, grimly. "And then I'm gonna find Face. When it comes to trouble, they sure did hit the jackpot when they picked on him!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Finding Face!**

At the same time as Murdock was rummaging through AJ's possessions, Face was sitting in the back of Able 8's car, on his way to liaise with his momma. It had been confirmed by Able 9, who was monitoring things at the motel, that both Samantha and the Marshal had arrived safely and were waiting for Face to turn up.

Dressed in a smart suit and tie, he had no idea that a double-cross was about to take place. Pouring over the file Stockwell had given him for about the umpteenth time, he was lost in his own world of eager anticipation and expectation about his meeting with his momma. It was only when he looked up and saw Able 9 opening the back-seat door that he realised they had reached their destination.

As he followed Able 9 into the low-budget motel, he was surprised that he felt giddy with nerves and even had a few butterflies in his stomach! But as he entered the room, he was not expecting to be met by a dazzling white light. As he peered blindly into his surroundings, a voice greeted him from the other side of the room.

"Ah, Lieutenant Peck," said the voice. "How nice of you to come. We've been waiting for you to arrive."

As Face was struck heavily at the back of the head, his last thoughts before he blacked out was that the voice sounded vaguely familiar.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A quick phone call to Hannibal confirmed Murdock's fears that Face had been abducted. Able 9 had also been knocked out and had been found by the driver, Able 8, who got suspicious when there was no further contact from his colleague and came to investigate.

General Stockwell had already assigned officers to find out what had happened. But further investigations had shed no light on the matter. Nothing seemed to have been disturbed in the room which would indicate that a struggle had taken place and very little finger prints had been found. Samantha (or indeed, her sister, if Murdock had called it correctly), the Marshal and Face all just seemed to have disappeared.

As Hannibal relayed this information to Murdock, the pilot informed Hannibal about his suspicions with regards to Joanne and his concerns about Ellen. Hannibal said he would get Stockwell to take the appropriate actions in both cases.

Hannibal also told Murdock that Stockwell had forbidden any of the team from going to the motel. He wanted to establish whether this was just something personal against Face, or whether there was a chance that there would be a further ambush of the whole team.

"Hmm!" deliberated Murdock. "Well officially, I'm not actually a member of the team!"

"Do what you have to do, Captain," said Hannibal. "Just be careful and holler if you need us!"

As Hannibal hung up, Murdock grinned to himself as he could envisage a hint of the jazz twinkling in the Colonel's eyes!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Arriving back in Washington, Murdock was aware that he was a good half a day behind his buddy going missing. He had been instructed by Stockwell to drive back to Langley once he arrived at the airfield. However, feeling a need to do something and knowing that Hannibal had more or less given him a green light to go it alone, Murdock decided to swing by the motel first.

Maybe he could dig up something the Ables had missed. If the chance had arisen, Face may have left a clue that only the A-Team would recognise. He knew Stockwell would be spitting mad about him disobeying his orders, but Murdock just had a gut feeling that the motel would hold the answer to Face's disappearance.

He pulled into the motel car park and switched off the engine. He didn't really know what his game plan was. He was sure the investigating officers would have gone over all the basic stuff, like talking to the desk clerk and banging on neighbouring doors looking for witnesses and information.

He needed to somehow blag his way into the motel room and have a good look around for himself. He knew most of the important investigations would have been completed by now, so he needed a good excuse to get back into the room again.

He rummaged around in the glove compartment and pulled out a name tag, which must have belonged to the Able assigned to lend Murdock the car. Rummaging further, he found a small compact camera and a notepad.

He pinned the name tag to his jacket and grabbed the camera and notepad. He got out the car and strolled over to the small, shabby reception area. The clerk behind the desk was reading a magazine and looked a bit grumpy and fed up as Murdock approached him.

"Good afternoon, Sir!" said Murdock, trying to sound as official and business-like as he could. "I'm the Conduct Scene and Initial Documentation Officer assigned to the investigation in Room 45."

The clerk barely looked up from the magazine he was reading as Murdock made his introductions.

"I thought you guys had finished your investigations?" he moaned. "I'm losing money whilst you are all fart-arsing around!"

"The walk-through procedure can only be done once the preliminary investigations are complete," explained Murdock. "It could provide us with a complete overview of the entire scene. We can establish if a light switch was left on or whether a window was forced open. We may even be able to detect odours such as cigarette smoke, gas, perfume or …."

The clerk yawned rudely at Murdock's ramblings. It was obvious he didn't have the slightest bit of interest in the investigation and was clearly only concerned about his loss of earnings whilst the room was out of bounds to the guests.

"Well, if you could just give me the key, I'll get out of your hair," said Murdock, glad that he didn't seem to have to justify to the clerk his reasons for wanting to get into the room in too much detail.

The clerk handed the key to Murdock, still grumbling under his breath about the inconvenience of it all. Murdock thanked him and hurried out of the reception area. He made his way to Room 45 and let himself in. He carefully made an inspection of the room, looking for any little thing Face could have left to alert the team where he had been taken or who his abductor was. He sighed in annoyance, as there appeared to be no clues as to his disappearance.

"Hey Mister! You involved in this investigation?"

Murdock jumped at the sound of the gruff voice coming from behind him. He looked round to see an old man fidgeting nervously in the doorway. From his scruffy appearance and slurring of his words, Murdock deduced he was probably a wino, living on the streets.

"Yeah, they've just called me in," replied Murdock.

"I've got some information about all the mysterious comings and goings," continued the wino.

"Really?" said Murdock, shutting the door discretely and leading the man away from the room, so as not to disturb the crime scene further. "Anything you could tell us would be a big help."

"Well, I was sitting under the trees yonder early this morning with my old pal, Jack Daniels," said the man. "The next thing I know, there's a couple of guys hot-footing out the fire escape entrance at the back of the motel, dragging a blonde guy in a smart suit with 'em. He looked like he had just gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson! They dumped him in a car and then a few seconds later I saw another guy with a woman also came out the back entrance."

The wino stopped for a second, fished out his bottle of whiskey from his raincoat pocket and took a big slug.

"What happened after that?" asked Murdock, anxiously waiting for the man to continue.

"The guy with the woman had a short conversation with the other guys," said the wino. "I couldn't hear what they were saying, but he seemed to be calling the shots. Then they got into their car and drove off with the Suit in the back. The other guy lit up a cigarette and then he and the woman got into a right swanky car and drove off."

"I don't suppose you got the registration number, did you?" asked Murdock hopefully.

"Naw!" said the man. "But it was a gold Pontiac Turbo Trans Am! I don't suppose you'd see too many of them driving around."

"Probably not," agreed Murdock. "Why didn't you mention any of this to the investigating officers this morning?"

"I guess I kinda got comfy sitting under those trees and dozed off!" said the wino, looking lovingly at his bottle. "Besides, if I reported every strange thing I saw out on the streets, I wouldn't live to tell the tale!"

"Point taken!" agreed Murdock. "Well that's been very helpful, thank-you."

"You're welcome, sonny," said the wino. He took another slug of his whiskey and then put the bottle back in his pocket. He started to move off whilst Murdock locked the motel door, when he suddenly stopped and brought out a box of matches from his pocket.

"Hey, wait a minute," he said to Murdock. "They guy who lit up the cigarette dropped these on the floor before he got into his car. Might be a clue as to where he went."

Murdock took the matches. He noticed that it had a picture and address of the Mayflower Hotel on the box.

"You may just have single-handedly solved this case, muchacho!" he said, forgetting his protocol for a moment as he slapped the old man excitedly on the back.

"I don't have to go to court or anything like that, do I?" asked the man, anxiously.

Murdock shook his head vigorously as he stuck a 5 dollar bill in the wino's hand.

"God bless ya guvnor!" said the man as he shuffled off. Murdock rushed back to the reception area. He handed back the key to the desk clerk and then returned to the car. He picked up the car phone and immediately called Hannibal.

"Hannibal, I've got a possible lead on Face," he said. "He maybe at The Mayflower Hotel. It's just a couple of blocks from here. But I'm gonna check it out first, coz I'm still not sure who we can trust on this one."

"You referring to Stockwell?" enquired Hannibal.

"Amongst others - a dead snake can still bite, you know!" warned Murdock. "The less people who know about the liaison the better until we can find out what's going on."

Hannibal chuckled at Murdock's comparison between Stockwell and the snake. Although the General did seem to be genuinely pulling out all the stops to find out what had happened to Face, he could understand why Murdock still had reservations about trusting him. There was no denying the man was as twisted as a factory full of pretzels!

"OK Captain," said Hannibal. "But I'm enforcing the contact code on you. If I don't hear from you after half an hour, we're coming in – with or without Stockwell!"

"Sure, Colonel," said Murdock. "But whatever happens I'm going after Face, so you better have a plan to get us out if the doggy-poo hits the fan!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Out of the frying pan into the fire!**

The Mayflower Hotel was a small but fairly luxurious hotel. Murdock drove around the parking bay and it wasn't long before he spotted the Pontiac. He pulled up in the space opposite it and switched off the engine. He unpinned his name tag and took a few moments to work out what he was going to do next. He called Hannibal to let him know he was at the hotel and gave him the registration number of the Pontiac, in the hope that Hannibal could find out any information from it.

Switching the engine back on, he took a quick look around him to make sure there was nobody around and then proceeded to reverse back into the front of the Pontiac. He closed his eyes briefly as he heard the sound of metal fusing together and then drove back into his parking space again.

Scribbling down the registration number on a piece of paper, he got out of the car and took a few seconds to admire his handy-work. He rubbed his hands together in glee at the fairly noticeable dent in the front of the Pontiac.

He went to Reception and hoped the usual scam of pretending to be a concerned citizen who had just reversed into a guest's car, would get him in the door – or at least draw the perpetrator out of the room. He was pleased to see that the Receptionist was a pretty young lady, whom he could work his school boy charms on!

"Excuse me, Miss?" he said, throwing her his most alluring smile. "I seemed to have reversed my car into a very expensive looking Pontiac in the parking bay. I have the registration number here and would be most grateful if you could inform the guest of my little mishap. Or better still, if you could give me the room number, I could make the apologies myself?"

"I'm afraid it's company policy not to give out guest information," replied the lady. "But I could ring the guest in question and relay your message?"

"That would be marvellous!" gushed Murdock.

The lady typed the registration number into the computer and after a couple of seconds the name of the guest flashed up on the screen. She rang the room number extension and Murdock emitted a low sigh of relief as the guest answered the phone. After a brief exchange, she put the phone down. Judging by the pink flush that had just spread across her cheeks, Murdock assumed that the guest hadn't been too pleased to hear the news!

"You may go up and sort out the details with Mr Kendrick," she said. "But be warned – he isn't in the best of moods after hearing the news! It's room 135 on the first floor."

Murdock expressed his thanks and winked at the young lady, making her blush even more! He made his way to the stairs and bounded up them two at a time as he made his way to Room 135. The door had been left slightly ajar and he was just about to knock politely when he heard voices coming from inside.

He froze to the spot, as he recognised with a sudden chill to the bone, who one the voices belonged to. It was a voice which took him right back to the PoW camp in Vietnam. It was a voice that made him feel angry, scared and confused all at the same time.

It was the voice of Lieutenant Tommy "the Angel" Anderson. A man who had given his fellow camp mates up for bait to keep on the right side of the evil Commandant, General Chow, who ruled the camp with his own brand of torture and torment.

Murdock assumed the other voice must belong to Joanne Bancroft. He listened intently to their conversation for a few seconds.

"I want out!" insisted the woman. "I've done what you asked me to do. How long do I have to stay here for?"

"Well now we've got Lieutenant Peck you can take the money and go," replied Angel. "But we don't want anyone to know you're Samantha's sister, so don't get any ideas about blabbing your mouth off to anyone."

Blinded by a sense of intense fury, Murdock came bursting through the door. The voices stopped abruptly at the sudden intrusion. In a few short paces, Murdock crossed the room and floored Angel with one single punch to his face. Angel fell backwards on to the floor, whilst Joanne looked on in horrified silence. Murdock jumped forward and bent down to grab Angel by his shirt, but stopped short as Tommy produced a pistol from his shoulder holster. At the same time, two enormous beefcakes came running out of one of the adjoining rooms.

"Back off, Captain!" he warned, as he pointed the pistol straight at Murdock. "Especially if you wanna see Peck again!"

Murdock stepped back and was immediately restrained by the two goons. He scowled furiously at Tommy. For the first time he noticed that Tommy's natural fair hair was now jet-black and that he was sporting a beard and moustache. No doubt a rouse to cover up his real identity.

"My, you've come up in the world, Angel – or should I say Mr Kendrick!" sneered the Pilot, as Tommy picked himself up from the floor. "Posing as a federal marshal! Whose dirty work are you making a profit from now!"

"I guess you're about to find out!" spluttered back Angel, wiping away the blood from his split lip with the back of his hand.

"Last time we saw ya, you and your dad were going down for that dodgy heroin wrap at the Bakery!" frowned Murdock. "What you doing back in polite society again, apart from polluting the air!"

"A man with my connections and know-how doesn't go down that easy!" sneered back Angel. "You should know that, Captain!"

"You turned state's evidence against ya own father, didn't ya!" guessed Murdock with repulsion in his voice. "I thought the law of silence of omertà was supposed to mean something in your line of work. Mind you, honour never was your strong point, was it?"

"You think my father wouldn't have done the same thing?" barked back Angel. "We all do what we have to do to survive. I had information that both the Feds and the CID were interested in – and I'm not just talking about my father's business. I co-operated with them at my trial and in return they keep me safe."

"And you just get to do what you've always done," said Murdock. "A perfect example of how a protected ex-mobster would return to what he knows best – crime!"

"Yeah!" drawled Angel. "I guess crime really does pay! But it hasn't all been sunshine and roses you know. I've had to infiltrate many a dangerous operation to keep my side of the bargain."

"My heart bleeds for you!" said Murdock, sarcastically. "You'll get what's coming to you one day, Anderson. I only hope I'm around to see it!"

"Don't count on it, Flyboy!" laughed Angel, scornfully.

"And what about you?" scrutinised Murdock, turning his attention to Joanne, who was listening wide-eyed to Murdock's rant. "You get some sort of kick out of dobbing in your nephew for the sake of a few dollars?"

"Don't you dare judge me!" retorted Joanne. "You don't know anything about me or what I've been through the last 20 years. You think my sister was the only one who was terrorised by those mobsters? Well you're wrong. We knew Samantha had hit rock-bottom because of what AJ and those thugs had done to her. When she disappeared with Richard, they came after me and my parents, thinking we knew where they were hiding. They even killed the FBI agent who was helping us gather evidence against them. He traced Samantha to her apartment in New York, hours after the Luciano family found her dead from a heroin overdose. He was the one who raised the alarm. Shortly after that, he was found dead with his throat cut and intestines ripped out. Just as a warning to anyone who tried to get in their way. We lived in constant terror that they would still come after us. Maybe even kill us too. It wasn't until we were finally put on the Program that we felt safe again."

Joanne paused for breath, her face red and flustered.

"Why do you still have Samantha's necklace?" asked Murdock, still suspicious about Joanne's intentions.

"Samantha left a lot of personal possessions behind when AJ disappeared," said Joanne. "The necklace was one of them."

"But don't you care that you have put Face in danger?" said Murdock. "Why did you agree to do it? Surely it wasn't all just for the money?"

"When I was told that Richard had been found, I just thought it would be a chance for him to think his momma was alive and well," replied Joanne. "I didn't see any harm in it. I was told it would be easy enough to have my file adapted to fit Samantha's profile."

"Who exactly are " _they_ "," demanded Murdock.

"Someone from the CID," responded Joanne. "They told me that Richard was on the run for crimes committed during the Vietnam war. They were offering an award for his capture – and also that of the A-Team. Darn it, Richard could even have benefitted from it. They said they would help him clear his name against the charges brought against him and the team."

"You weren't at all suspicious when you were offered money to bring him out in the open?" pressed Murdock further.

"Look, I needed the money, okay!" protested Joanne, angrily. "You think it was easy being on the Program? Do you think we ended up with respectable jobs and a nice house in the country to live in? Yeah, ok, we had protection, but we were still looking over our shoulders all the time. We were treated liked caged animals. No bank account, no passport, no birth certificate, no identity. I had to leave my friends behind and my parents had to sever their ties with the rest of the family. The pressure was too much for them in the end. They never did get over the fact that they had lost their daughter and grandson. Papa died a couple of years into the Program, and mama, a couple of years after that. They died knowing that Samantha thought we had given up on her. We eventually lost contact with her so she didn't know we were looking for her. She died thinking we had abandoned her. Do you know what that feels like? All this has ruined my life. I just thought I was owed this."

"But you had no intentions of hanging around long enough to tell Face who you really were, did you?" scowled Murdock. "You were just gonna take the money and run, without ever telling Face the truth."

Joanne scowled back without answering, but judging from the look of guilt - and fear - on her face, Murdock knew he had struck a nerve. In a way he felt sorry for her. She was as much a victim in all this as Samantha had been. He believed her story that she thought she could help Face by assisting the CID. Angel must have been working for them, posing as the Marshal in her case. But either way, this wasn't going to soften the blow for Face.

"I didn't know CID had an interior motive," said Joanne, looking genuinely worried and flustered. "I wouldn't intentionally have put Richard in trouble. You've got to believe me."

"Well, this is all very touching," mocked Angel impatiently. "But unfortunately, there is rather more pressing business to be dealt with. I am actually surprised that you have turned up here, Captain. I wouldn't have thought Colonel Smith would have been stupid enough to risk you all walking into a trap. That's why we singled out Peck. The team is far too dangerous when you are altogether. Unless of course you're working independently? Oh – don't tell me – you're the jerk who pranged the Pontiac, right?"

Murdock gave Angel an ugly scowl. They guy was playing him. He knew how the A-Team worked. Maybe he was after them all or maybe it was just Face he needed. But either way, the cocky arrogance of the weasel made him feel uneasy.

"We need to get out of here," said Angel to his henchmen. "We don't want any more unexpected guests turning up now that we've lost the element of surprise."

He gestured to one of the men to come forward.

"Take the back-up car and drive Miss Robinson to the airport," he continued. "I'm sure she's anxious to get on with her new life."

Turning towards the other goon, he pushed Murdock towards him.

"Take Flyboy here out to the van," he ordered.

"Don't forget to pack your guilty conscience!" called out Murdock to Joanne, as he was escorted out of the room by the goon.

"When you've dropped off the girl, we'll meet you back at Greenbrier's Bunker," said Angel to the man left in charge of Joanne. He nodded his head in acknowledgement of his orders as Angel left the room and followed the others down the corridor.

"Now don't try anything funny, or Little Miss Conscience won't live to enjoy her new found inheritance!" warned Angel in Murdock's ear. "You turning up has proved to be a mild irritation, Captain, but I'm sure my client will be just as delighted to see you as he was to see Lieutenant Peck. Two for the price of one, you might say!"

As he was led away, Murdock had a nasty feeling there was much more worse to come!


	7. Chapter 7: Confessions

**Chapter 7: Confessions**

Having spent the last half an hour or so in the back of the van with Angel's goon, Murdock had no idea where he was. After finally reaching their destination, he was pulled out of the van and found himself standing in front of what looked like a giant bunker nestled deep inside the hillside. Two 25-ton blast doors stood ominously at the entrance. Angel, who had been driving the van, jumped out and joined them at the gates.

"What is this place?" enquired Murdock.

"This is Greenbrier's Bunker - one of American's closest-kept secrets," said Angel. "It was built to serve as an emergency shelter for the United States Congress during the Cold War. But the project was abandoned half way through construction. It does make a nice little hideaway for – shall we say – unofficial business!"

Murdock gave Angel a contemptuous grimace. He didn't like to think what the Authorities had given this turncoat permission to do, in order to find out the information they needed. Before he had a chance to voice his disapproval, the giant doors suddenly opened and two armed guards appeared. Murdock couldn't help noticing they were of Vietnamese appearance. Angel's henchmen pushed him towards the door.

Once inside the bunker, Angel led the way down a long corridor, whilst his men remained by the entrance. Murdock followed behind Angel and the two guards took up the rear. He looked up in open-mouthed wonder at all the names above the other passageways that branched off from the main corridor. The bunker appeared to be pretty well set out, with dormitories, recreation areas, cafeteria, a hospital and even a decontamination chamber. Eventually Angel stopped outside a room bearing the name "Storage Facility".

"I'll let the guards take it from here," he said to Murdock. "See ya later, Flyboy!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Face wasn't sure how long he had laid sprawled out on the floor. After awakening from his clout around the head and given himself a few moments to get himself together, he had surveyed his surroundings carefully. Most of the room seemed to be filled with huge, putrid water tanks and oil drums that were still filled to capacity. Apart from that, the room was pretty much empty.

He took off his jacket and brushed it down vigorously, looking around for somewhere to lay it down. Using his handkerchief, he meticulously wiped away the dust and dirt from the only chair in the room, before placing his jacket over the back of it and sat down, waiting for something to happen.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, he finally heard the rattling of keys and voices outside the door. He jumped up with an air of trepidation, bracing himself in readiness for whatever fate was going to throw at him. What he wasn't expecting, was to see Murdock being flung roughly into the room by the two guards, tripping over his feet as he collided into Face. The guards then retreated from the room without saying a word, clanging and locking the metal door shut behind them.

"Murdock!" exclaimed Face, steadying the pilot as he came crashing towards him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Thought you might be lonely without me!" grinned back Murdock, managing to stop himself – and Face - from falling over. Face let go his grip once Murdock had steadied himself.

The pilot looked round the store room in disgust. "I say old bean," he further commented, in a crisp, English accent. "I don't think much of your current abode!"

"Cut it out, Murdock!" groaned Face. "Any ideas what's going on?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," said Murdock.

"Sorry pal, but I've been out cold for the past few hours," informed Face, rubbing the back of his throbbing head in a pained manner.

"Well," began Murdock, wondering how he was going to explain all this to Face. "I've just had the unfortunate misfortune of running into Tommy "the Angel" Anderson!"

"Really!" said Face, in a puzzled voice. "Where did you bump into him?"

Murdock slouched uncomfortably against one of the water tanks, trying to find the words that had been sticking in his throat for the past month or so. Face, recognising the sudden edginess in Murdock's manner, glared at him suspiciously.

"You were at the motel, weren't you?" he pressed further. "You saw her, didn't you? You saw Samantha? What was she like? Is she ok? Has anyone hurt her?"

Murdock tried desperately to stop Face's barrage of questions.

"Yes … I mean no, ...," he stammered. "I mean … I didn't see her at the motel because they moved her."

"So did you see her or not?" demanded Face, slightly confused by Murdock's answer.

"I didn't see her because … because … she wasn't your momma," blurted out Murdock. "This has all been a set-up."

The hurt and disappointment in Face's eyes cut through Murdock like a knife. He held his breath, expecting Face to explode like a volcano. But instead the Lieutenant just flopped to the floor, as if all the hope and expectation had drained out of him. He sat against the wall, legs sprawled out in front of him, shaking his head in disbelief. Murdock took off his jacket and came and sat down next to Face. He laid it down on the floor beside him and hugged his knees as he brought them up to his chest.

"You keeping secrets from me, buddy?" murmured Face finally, in a quiet voice, his blue-grey eyes probing deep into Murdock's chocolate brown eyes.

"I've wanted to tell you," confessed Murdock, apprehensively. "I guess I was just waiting for the right time, with you bein' beat up an' all."

"Well, now seems like as good a time as any," said Face, his voice suddenly cold and distant. "Spill it, Murdock!"

"Samantha had a sister," revealed Murdock, with a heavy sigh. "She's the one who was on the Witness Protection Program. Her and her parents. They were being terrorised by the same dirtballs who were after your momma. They thought they could get to her through them."

"How did you know Samantha had a sister?" grilled Face further, his eyes now matching his icy manner.

"I went to see Ellen," said Murdock, hugging his legs even harder as he saw a rare glint of anger swelling up on the Lieutenant's face.

"You haven't got Ellen involved in all of this, have you?" barked back Face. "Murdock, for God's sake! If you've put her in any danger …!"

"Oh no, Face!" interrupted Murdock quickly. "Ellen is fine, I swear to you. It's just, that, well, I had my suspicions that this Samantha Bancroft wasn't your mom. But I just wanted to be sure. Then I remembered you telling me that Ellen had a trunk full of AJ's possessions, so I just thought I'd see what I could find out. That's when we came across Samantha's wedding license and saw that one of the witnesses was a girl called Joanne Robinson. And there was lots of family photos of her with Samantha and her parents and … well we just kind of put two and two together."

Murdock's words came gushing out in one big non-stop torrent of information. Face listened intently, somehow managing to make sense of the pilot's erratic rambling.

"Okay, okay, Murdock!" he said. "I get the picture. But why would Joanne pretend to be Samantha? What would she get to gain from it?"

"Money!" came back Murdock's rapid reply. "She's on her own now. Her parents died shortly after they were put on the Program. She said some CID official approached her about making a deal to bring you out in the open. It could have been any of us, I suppose. But I'm thinkin' that they knew about AJ Bancroft dying and saw Joanne as a way to get to you."

"Do you think this has anything to do with Decker?" asked Face. "He may be in cahoots with the CID over this."

"Naw!" replied Murdock, firmly. "Maybe at first, but then when I saw Angel, I changed my mind. I think it's someone bigger than that. And did you notice those guards were Vietnamese? I think we're talking about _something_ and _someone_ a bit more sinister!"

Face sat in a stony silence, whilst he mulled over Murdock's information. He pulled up his legs, leaning his elbows on his knees as he rested his face in his hands. He didn't know what unnerved him the most. The fact that he had been used by his so-called aunt for her own personal gain or the fact that someone had gone to an awful lot of trouble to set him up for a reason that was still unexplained.

Murdock watched him in concern, knowing that Face would eventually ask him that all important question. His eyes were ready to meet Face's, when his buddy finally looked up.

"Why were you suspicious about Samantha being my momma?" challenged Face.

"Because ….," hesitated Murdock. "Because Luciano told me she was dead."

Face gulped back a big lump that had formed in his throat. However, always the expert at covering up his own feelings, he blinked back unemotionally at Murdock before responding.

"Did his father kill her?" he asked, in a calm but ominous voice.

"No," replied Murdock. "She was already dead when he found her. She died of a heroin overdose."

Face didn't flinch at this shocking news, but deep inside his stomach churned over. "Got any proof of that?" he asked.

"Remember the photograph Luciano gave you?" replied Murdock. "Well he said his father found it on your momma just after she died. I'm sorry muchacho, but she was down on her luck and had got into bad ways – if you know what I mean?"

"No!" yelled Face, suddenly jumping up. "He's lying! My momma would never … she wouldn't lead that sort of life!"

"Joanne confirmed it," said Murdock, also standing up as he anxiously watched Face pace up and down the limited floor space. "Her parents knew the sort of life she was leading and were desperately trying to find you and your mom. They even hired an FBI agent to help them gather evidence about the Luciano family and try and find out where she was. It was the FBI agent who found her and informed the Authorities. But the Mob must have known he was on their trail, coz he ended up dead a few hours later."

"So - this Joanne," said Face. "Didn't she want to meet me?"

The pained expression on the pilot's face answered his own question.

"I guess, she was just after the money, huh?" he said.

Murdock shrugged his shoulders, obviously embarrassed to tell Face the truth. Face stopped pacing up and down the room and leaned on one of the water tanks, with his back to Murdock.

"It's funny," he muttered, more to himself than Murdock. "I've got family crawling out of the woodwork and yet nobody wants to know me. I must have been a really bad kid when I was little."

"Oh no, Facey!" contradicted Murdock, walking over to stand by Face. "That's not true. Joanne is scared, is all. And your momma just got dealt a bad hand in life. But she cared enough about you to put you in the orphanage to keep you safe. She didn't want the Mob to find you. I bet she would have come back for you if things had been different. She probably sacrificed more for you than you'll ever know. And Ellen is really concerned about you. I think even AJ cared for you in his own way."

"Oh, stop with the jibber-jabber!" scowled back Face. "This is the real world we're talking about now, Murdock. Not your candyfloss version of it."

Face immediately regretted his choice of words as a haunted look appeared in Murdock's eyes. Before the pilot could reply, the door suddenly swung open and Angel entered with the two armed guards, who were carrying automatic rifles. They immediately began to usher Murdock and Face further back into the room, separating them as they trained their weapons on them.

A fourth person stepped into the room and like the guards, he was of Vietnamese appearance and wore a Vietnamese Guard uniform. Hideous scarring and what looked like charred, burned skin, defiled the right-side of his face.

But despite his appearance, there was no mistaking who the mysterious stranger was.

"Colonel Sieu!" exclaimed Murdock and Face in unison.


	8. Chapter 8: Storm clouds

**Chapter 8: Storm clouds**

[ ** _Author's Note: For anyone not familiar with these characters and the following events: Colonel Sieu, General Fulbright and Tia appeared courtesy of the A-Team episode "The Sound of Thunder". Lieutenant Angel and General Chow appeared in the episode "Recipe for heavy bread"._** ]

Colonel Sieu glared at Face and Murdock with complete hatred in his eyes. The friends exchanged uncomfortable glances with each other, as everything began to fall into place. The Colonel being in town wasn't just a coincidence. He was the one who had set this whole thing up. They both had a feeling that this little rendezvous wasn't going to be pretty!

They had encountered Colonel Sieu in Vietnam some months back during a personal mission with General Fulbright. They had just assumed he had gone up in flames when Hannibal blew up the oil drums during their escape with Fulbright and his mixed-raced daughter, Tia. The hut where the Colonel had been standing in at the time of the explosion must have given him some protection, but clearly not enough to escape his injuries.

"I guess you guys don't need any introductions!" sneered Angel.

"Well, if it isn't Mr Snitch!" said Face sarcastically. "I would recognise that snidey voice of yours anywhere!"

"Nice to see you, too, Lieutenant Peck!" rebuffed Angel.

"How the hell did you and the Colonel ever get acquainted, Angel?" scrutinised Face. "You all part of the General Chow Appreciation Society?"

"You might wanna know that I don't go by the name Angel anymore," said Angel.

"No kidding!" snorted Face. "Well I guess with your track record, you'd be a dead man walking! So just when we think you couldn't sink any lower, you end up working for the CID!"

"CID … Feds … it's all the same to me," said Angel, shrugging his shoulders in an indifferent manner. "CID were pretty keen to get their hands on the illusive A-Team after their miraculous escape from the firing squad. You've made quite a fool out of them one way or another. I was happy to oblige them – with a little help from your aunt, of course! Now, if you tell us who you are working for and give up the rest of the team, you could save yourselves a whole lot grief in the long run."

"Yeah sure!" scoffed Face. "Right up until the point when they put us back on the firing line again!"

"What's this got to do with the FBI?" asked Murdock. "I'm assuming they are connected to the Colonel in some way? He wouldn't be in the country otherwise. They got some big deal going down with him? I'm pretty sure he isn't here on a site-seeing tour!"

"The Feds have their own agenda in all of this," said Angel. "I believe they are interested in finding out about what happened to a mutual acquaintance of the team and Colonel Sieu. You might say this little exercise is a collaboration between the two organisations."

"I guess it took both the Feds and the CID working together to bring the A-Team down!" declared Murdock, triumphantly.

"Enough!" shouted Colonel Sieu. "This is not a social gathering. I want you to tell me the whereabouts of one General Harlan Fulbright. I have some unfinished business to settle with him."

"Then it will have to remain unfinished," informed Murdock. "Fulbright never made it back to America alive. You made sure of that. He died when you shot him in the back."

"But I saw the white-haired American carry him into the helicopter," persisted Colonel Sieu. "Why would he continue to risk saving his life if he was already dead?"

"Coz, we don't leave anyone behind!" asserted Murdock.

"I don't believe you!" yelled Colonel Sieu. "No doubt you are trying to protect him from the consequences of his actions. Or maybe you killed him yourselves after you found out what sort of man he was?"

"Come on guys, give it up!" urged Angel. "The Feds know you were involved with his disappearance and possible murder. The Colonel can't confirm either way what happened to the General. This is your chance to give us your side of the story."

"You're wasting your time, Angel," said Face. "Murdock is telling you the truth. The General never made it back alive. And even if he had made it, we wouldn't dish the dirt on him. He didn't deserve that."

"So what did you do with his body?" questioned the Colonel, further.

"We gave him a burial at sea so you cockroaches couldn't get your hands on him!" retorted Murdock. "So if the Feds are trying to pin the blame on us for his murder, they're gonna have a hard time proving it!"

"And what about his traitorous, daughter?" snapped back Colonel Sieu. What happened to her?"

Murdock and Face gave the Colonel a rebellious smirk. There was no way they were going to give up Tia. They had brought her back to America with them for safety, as she would have been seen as a war criminal in her own country. Thanks to Face's skilful ability in forging fake ID and legal documents, she had made a new life for herself in New York.

"I don't remember Fulbright having a daughter, do you Murdock?" said Face, feigning ignorance.

"Sure don't," responded Murdock, scratching his head in wonderment.

"Perhaps this will help jog your memory," threatened Colonel Sieu, drawing out a very large sword from his hip scabbard. The guard held on to Murdock as Sieu wielded the weapon dangerously close to his face. But the pilot didn't even blink as he returned the Colonel's steely grimace with gritty defiance.

"What about you, Lieutenant?" taunted Colonel Sieu, turning his attention to Face. "Does your loyalty lie with your comrade or with a cowardly conspirator who brought disgrace and dishonour to her country?"

Face said nothing as he fiddled nervously with his tie. He looked uneasily at his buddy, who was only inches away from the blade. Colonel Sieu took his silence as an action of non-cooperation and with a very deft and skilful flick of the sword, slashed Murdock on his upper right arm. It was only a slight graze, but it was deep enough to draw blood. The pilot couldn't help it as he gasped in pain.

"Wait!" yelled Face in panic, as Sieu raised his sword to attack Murdock further. He moved as if to scramble towards his buddy, but was immediately restrained by the guard.

The Colonel lowered his sword as he raised his eyebrows questionably at the conman. "Well, Lieutenant?" he said.

"It won't do you any good going after the girl," said Face, trying to reason with the deranged solider. "She's only a kid. She wasn't part of the Underground Movement and didn't have any political motives. She wasn't working with her father in some secret coup to bring down the Vietnamese government. She had a grievance with General Fulbright being her father. That was the only reason why she brought him to Vietnam. In fact she hated him so much she wanted to kill him."

"More lies!" retorted Colonel Sieu. "Why would you make excuses for this girl and her father? Maybe you were in league with them all along to bring down our Movement? The infamous A-Team were well-known for their disreputable conduct during the Vietnam conflict. Now, for the last time, Lieutenant. Where is General Fulbright's daughter hiding?"

Face gave Murdock a worried, questioning look. Murdock gritted his teeth as he shook his head vigorously at Face. It was a look that said, " _don't give him what he wants_ ".

"We don't know where she is," reiterated Face, in a resolute voice. "She hated us even more than she hated her father. She had it away on her toes before we even made it back to our Landing Zone."

"Liar!" bellowed Colonel Sieu. He lashed out at Murdock again, this time slashing him across his left shoulder.

"Stop it, please!" begged Face, feeling totally helpless as he watched his buddy suffering without being able to help him. He struggled to release himself from the guard's clutches, but was unable to do much with an AK-47 stuck in his back.

"Maybe you need a little time to regain your memory," said Colonel Sieu. "I can see your defence mechanism just needs a little time to weaken. I will be back shortly and maybe then your memory will have returned."

"You won't get away with this, Sieu!" bluffed Face. "The people we work for now probably already know we are here."

"Wishful thinking, Peck," sneered Angel. "Look, you're not gonna get out of this one, so why don't you just let Saigons be bygones? You can do yourselves a favour here. If you don't wanna give up the team or tell me who you're working for, then CID are quite happy for Sieu to take care of you for them. After all, he's got more than one reason to seek his revenge on you and getting rid of half the A-Team is better than nothing! But if you tell Sieu what he wants to know, he'll probably go easy on you."

"You know that's not gonna happen," mocked Face, scornfully. "Hannibal already told you once before that we're not for sale or open to negotiation in any shape or form."

"I will have retribution!" yelled Colonel Sieu. "Otherwise, Lieutenant, you will see your friend suffer needlessly and painfully. And believe me, no-one will hear his screams down here but you."

As the madman left the room with his cronies in tow, Face rushed to Murdock's aid, lowering him gently to the ground. Murdock was dabbing at his wounds, helplessly with his hands.

"You okay, buddy"? asked Face, his eyes full of concern as he could hear Murdock muttering under his breath.

"That dude just trashed my fave T-Shirt!" lamented Murdock, looking down sadly at his ripped and blood-stained "Poets Contrive But Pigs Provide" garment.

"I wasn't talking about your damn T-Shirt!" exclaimed Face, bending down to examine the extent of Murdock's injuries.

"Oh that's nothing - just a little flesh wound, is all," asserted Murdock cheerfully, determined not to let Face know how much he was hurting. "The porch light is still burning! Just need something to stop the juice from flowing."

A frantic scan of the sparse room confirmed the Lieutenant's fears that there was nothing to treat his buddy's wounds with. Coming to a quick decision, Face quickly undid his tie, throwing it down on the floor. Unbuttoning his shirt, he whipped it off and started to rip it up into make-do bandages. He then proceeded to stem the flow of blood dripping from Murdock's wounds, patching him up as best as he could.

Satisfied that the pilot was as comfortable as he could make him, he grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and slipped it on over his muscular, sun-kissed torso. He then began to pace up and down in an agitated manner.

"Well at least he didn't give me the fire-roasted sword treatment he was gonna give Fulbright!" wheezed Murdock, trying to lighten Face's mood.

"Not funny!" responded Face, gravely. "We're in serious trouble here, Murdock. What are we gonna do?"

"You can't tell him where Tia is," said Murdock, his voice quiet but firm. "And we can't give up the team, either. They're getting pretty close, but they obviously don't know Stockwell is involved yet. I think we better keep it that way."

"But I can't just stand here and see you being tortured – or worse!" protested Face.

"Well, believe me, I don't think your picklocks are going to get us out of this one, Amigo!" joked Murdock.

"I'm gonna have to tell them something," said Face, the decision clearly tearing him apart. "Perhaps I can divert their attention for a bit?"

"It won't come to that," reassured Murdock. "Hannibal will have a plan to get us out of here before that happens. Don't worry, Faceman, it will be a piece of cake!"


	9. Chapter 9: Past reflections

**Chapter 9: Past reflections**

As they waited for Colonel Sieu to return, Murdock filled Face in with a few more details about what Joanne had told him about her past and where they were being kept captive. Both agreed that an escape plan would be futile. Even if they could get out of the store room, there would be no way of getting through the bunker's 3 foot thick concrete walls or the blast doors. Not knowing who else was occupying the bunker and with no weapons between them, it could prove more perilous trying to escape. The preferred option was to just sit tight and hope that Hannibal would come to the rescue.

As the time passed by, the two men sat side-by-side on the floor in stony silence. Neither seemed particularly interested in making further conversation. Although the friends had put their differences aside as they faced more serious consequences, Face was still smarting from Murdock's revelation about his momma and aunt. And Murdock's injuries and pending doom had stripped him of his previous jovial demeanour, as he quietly drifted off into his own little world.

The temperature in the store room had become stifling hot and suffocating. Whereas at one point there must have been air-con in the room, there was no evidence that it was now operating. Despite the heat, Face pulled his jacket tightly around him, feeling self-conscious about the fact that he was bare-chested. He glanced furtively at Murdock, who seemed to be staring upwards, in a hypnotic state at the light attachment on the ceiling. Face had seen that look before and knew it was usually a sign that Murdock was in a bad place.

"Jeez, it's as hot as Hades in here!" panted Face, loudly, hoping to stir Murdock from his trance. "Maybe Sieu has decided to just let us stew in our own juices!"

"Maybe," replied Murdock, still staring at the light.

"Murdock?" questioned Face, anxiously, not sure if the pilot's vagueness had anything to do with his injuries or whether he was about to embark on his own personal nightmare. He knew how dangerous it could be living in Murdock's head sometimes! "Where are you buddy?"

Murdock continued to stare at the light. Except it wasn't the light anymore. The long wire cable with its solitary bulb hanging from it, had changed into a meat hook. It dangled above him, suspended from the ceiling in a sadistic fashion. Even though he knew what horrors it would unfold, he couldn't drag his gaze away from it.

He was back in the Hanoi Hilton, enduring another routine torture session with the hook. The guards had tied up his hands and feet and bound his hands to his ankles. If he was lucky he would be tied up bent in a forward position. But usually they preferred to bind him in a backward position. The ropes were tightened to a point where he couldn't breathe. Then, either bowed or bent in half, he would be hoisted up onto the hook to hang by the ropes. The guards would return at intervals to tighten them until all feeling was gone and his limbs would turn purple and swell to twice their normal size. This would go on for hours, sometimes even days on end.

"Murdock!" shouted Face, now shaking him violently to stop him from zoning out completely. Murdock finally shifted his gaze from the ceiling and looked at him with a far-off look in his eyes.

"My father sells flowers," he said in a robotic tone, almost as if he was answering a random question under interrogation.

"And I'm a monkey's uncle!" replied Face, still holding Murdock in a firm grip until he was certain he wasn't going to slip into a place where he couldn't reach him. He sighed in relief as he saw a hint of recognition flicker in Murdock's eyes.

"Don't leave me now, buddy," implored Face. "We're in this thing together, right?"

The wretched desperation in Face's words jolted Murdock out of his trance. He gave his friend a lopsided grin as he shifted into a more comfortable position on the floor.

"I was just thinking that if we get out of this alive, I'm never going to complain about room service again!" jested Murdock.

Face laughed nervously. But inwardly he knew Murdock had been thinking dark thoughts. From his throw-away remark, Face guessed it probably had something to do with the Hanoi Hilton. Having been separated from the pilot during their incarceration there, the only way they got to know if he was still alive, was by learning the tap code to communicate with the other prisoners around the camp. It was by the grace and mercy of God that they had survived the hell and torture inflicted upon them. But however bad it been for them, it had been twice as bad for their Captain. Pilots were not liked by the VC!

Seeing a pink stain seeping through one of his make-do bandages, Face immediately leapt into action to rectify the situation.

"Let's just fix this up," he said as he carefully removed the blood-stained bandage and proceeded to make a new bandage with the remaining strips of his shirt. "I think maybe Sieu cut you deeper than we first thought."

Murdock sat patiently whilst Face fixed him up. He had gone very pale, and Face couldn't help but be worried about him. There had been many times in the past when he had put this man back together – and vice versa.

Seeing Angel again brought back vivid memories to mind. The team had been caught by the VC and taken to one of the camps before they were transferred to Hanoi. General Chow was the camp commandant and it was pretty clear that Lieutenant Angel was in his pocket. The no-mark would call the prisoners up to his hooch for interrogation. He was looking for someone to rat on the others. He would lay his tobacco on the table, bribing the men to take the bait. Nearly always somebody did. And it always seemed to be Face – who never played by the rules and made it clear he didn't like Angel – who suffered.

The prisoners had been split into two separate 10-man squads shortly after they had arrived at the camp. Murdock and Face had been in one squad occupying one hooch and Hannibal and BA in the other. Maybe if Hannibal had been with them he would have kept the two young scamps out of trouble, but their paths did not cross that often.

During one barbaric torture session, both of them had been brutally flogged with a rubber whip. Afterwards, they had been left to rot in their wooden cage, bleeding profusely and covered in sickening bruises. But as they lay huddled together, their skin ripped and torn and their bodies throbbing in agony, it would be Murdock who would keep their spirits up. Even in his semi-conscience state, he still managed to wind up the guards (and Angel) with his unrelenting singing and Vietnamese dialogue, which Face was sure was not very complimentary!

One of the first things Angel had told them on their first day in the camp, was that " _In the jungle the lion is the king. To survive you must live like an animal_." Hannibal had declared to his team that they weren't going to live like that. He also had taken his fair share of the torture treatment and to a lesser extent, BA. Maybe that's what had made them targets. They had refused to be broken. They had bucked the system wherever they could and their diehard attitude had angered and confused their torturers.

Face wasn't so sure he would have survived without Murdock by his side. He was still young, hot-headed and more vulnerable then he would ever let on to anybody. Murdock had been his big brother through those hellish weeks in the camp. And even before their capture Murdock had been a priceless addition to their team. The crazy dinky-du pilot had risked his own life to save their sorry asses over and over again when they had been cornered in the Jungle by the Viet Cong.

He was their team mascot. You kind of knew that if you had Murdock on your side, you were going to win. His persistent, almost annoying sense of fun and mischief lifted all their spirits – even BA's – although he wouldn't outwardly admit it! Many a time he had rescued the guys single-handedly during their missions over the years, which was a true testament to his loyalty and dedication to protect his team.

Suddenly the anger and frustration he felt about his momma and Joanne subsided. What was the point of getting upset about circumstances that had been out of his control? They were just pipedreams that played with his mind and messed with his emotions. If his momma had made sacrifices for him, then it was his duty to make sure her sacrifice wasn't made for nothing.

During Vietnam the team had become his family. They were just a bunch of misfits who had come together to create their own dysfunctional family. But the bond between the lieutenant and the pilot had been especially strong. Even now, Murdock was looking at Face as if he knew what he was thinking.

It was at that moment that Face knew he had to do something. He had to get them out of here. He wasn't going to let Murdock down. He wasn't going to give up without a fight. He jumped up and re-scanned the room with expert precision.

"You gotta plan, Lieutenant?" enquired Murdock.

Face's eyebrows furrowed up into a deep frown.

"Well, we haven't got much to work with," he replied, honestly.

"Ah, but that's when you get your best ideas!" proclaimed Murdock, making reference to Hannibal's quote about how Face always worked better when he was under pressure.

"There's no way we are going to be able to move those tanks," continued Face, still deep in thought. "But maybe we could use the oil for something to cause a diversion? Perhaps a spillage on the floor might do the trick? We could unscrew some of the caps, dip them into the tanks and use them to collect the oil in. And I think that chair will come in handy."

He looked back at Murdock, who seemed to have got back the old sparkle in his eyes again.

"You ready to rock 'n' roll, Captain?"

Murdock stood up slowly and gave Face a staunch salute.

"Let's get this party started, Lieutenant!"

[ ** _AN: Thank-you to Maclooping, who, in a recent PM conversation, referred to Murdock as the team's mascot and hence inspired me to write this chapter._** ]


	10. Chapter 10: Escape

**Chapter 10: Escape**

As soon as the guards and Colonel Sieu walked in the room all hell broke out. Face and Murdock had managed to spill enough oil on the floor to provide an adequate skating rink. Within seconds of the guards marching through the door, it wasn't long before they were slipping and sliding in the oil slick. One lost his footing almost straightaway and belly-flopped to the floor in spectacular fashion. He continued to slide across the floor until he collided with one of the water tanks, winding himself in the process and losing his rifle.

The other guard managed to stay on his feet long enough to display an impressive demonstration of balance and fancy footwork, before he finally collided with one of the oil drums. As he bumped into it with a tremendous thud, he knocked himself out cold. Murdock took the opportunity of disarming him, whilst Face, who was standing near the entrance to the door, threw the chair in Colonel Sieu's direction. The surprise tactic threw the Colonel off balance as he wrestled with the incoming missile and it wasn't long before he too was floundering around on the floor.

"Come on Murdock!" yelled Face, tottering carefully to the open door. "Let's get out of here!"

Murdock skated across the floor with an air of speed and elegance, shouting out " _Geronimo_ " on his way over to Face. Face grabbed him and shoved him out the door, before slamming it shut behind him. He put the keys in his pocket. As the door could only be opened from the outside, the guards and the Colonel were nicely taken care off.

"I wonder where Angel is?" pondered Face, his radar senses automatically switching to red alert.

"Well he never did like to get his hands dirty," grimaced Murdock. "What do we do now, Lieutenant?"

"I think we better get your wounds cleaned up properly," replied Face, already noticing how the sudden exertion had wearied the injured pilot. He was worried that the perspiration covering his forehead wasn't just as a result of the stifling heat they had been subjected to in the store room. The cut above his right shoulder was also starting to bleed again. "Did you say there was a hospital in this warren hole?"

"Yeah, it's back down the corridor a-ways," said Murdock. "You take point, Face. I don't think I'm focussed enough to use this thing."

Murdock handed Face the AK-47, who led the way down the corridor in the direction Murdock had pointed to. Face also marvelled at the maze of passageways stretched out in front of them. But he never once questioned Murdock's ability to find the way to the hospital. It was very rare his photographic memory let him down.

Luckily, there didn't appear to be anybody else around and they arrived at the hospital without any further mishap. Face was afraid that maybe the supplies would be out-of-date or worse still, no longer available. But thankfully this seemed to be one of the few rooms that still served its purpose.

Murdock sat down on the examining bed whilst Face tended to his wounds. The pilot winced as Face removed his tattered, blood-stained bandages. Crusty scabs were already beginning to form on his skin and had stuck to his T-shirt.

Face cut away as much as the fabric as he could and quickly and gently applied new dressings to his wounds. He was glad that at least he had proper gauzing, bandages and disinfectant to work with.

"I think you're probably going to need a few stitches in that shoulder, mate," he concluded, as he washed his hands in the near-by sink.

"Thanks, muchacho," said Murdock. Observing what was left of Face's blood-stained and oil covered clothes he added, "sorry about the suit, man!"

"Don't worry," said Face. "I'll send you my tailor's bill!"

Murdock laughed as he stood up from the bed.

"I thought I'd lost you back there for a moment," confided Face, as he swung round to face the pilot.

"No chance of that!" said Murdock. "Just had one of my purple wobble moments, is all. I am sorry about keeping everything from you, Face. My brain just doesn't seem to work like everybody else's. I guess I screwed up again."

"No you didn't," said Face. "You were only looking out for me. Just like you've always done."

"I know I don't have the words to make you feel better," replied Murdock. "But I do have arms to give you a hug and ears to listen whenever you want to talk. And as long as I got a biscuit, half of it is yours!"

"You know, Murdock," said Face with a chuckle, as he helped the pilot on with his jacket. "When I count my blessings, I count you twice."

Murdock beamed with pride. It was Face's why of saying he had forgiven Murdock for his indiscretions and that he still valued their friendship.

It was then that they heard a familiar voice bellowing down the passageway.

"Face! Murdock! Where are you, suckers!"

"In here, Oh Barackan One!" yelled back Murdock.

Within seconds BA appeared in the doorway. He peered cautiously into the room, his rifle ready for action. On seeing that the two men were safe and there appeared to be no immediate danger, he lowered his weapon and called out to Hannibal.

"Found the fools, Hannibal!" he shouted as he made his way into the room, followed almost immediately by Hannibal.

"Hi guys!" grinned Hannibal.

"Am I glad to see you, Colonel!" exclaimed Face.

"Likewise!" replied Hannibal. "Status report, Lieutenant."

"Murdock's been hurt, but nothing life-threatening to worry about," reported Face. And we've got three of the bad guys locked up in the Storage Facility."

"Ah!" said Hannibal. "Would one of them happen to be Colonel Sieu?"

"How did you know about Sieu"? asked Murdock, in a surprised voice.

"Well, Stockwell has been moving heaven and earth to find out what's been going on," said Hannibal. "He managed to find out that Colonel Sieu was working with the FBI on something called the Cuban Program. A manhunt was launched back into 1970s to find a bunch of henchmen who were involved in torturing and murdering American PoWs during the Vietnam war. Colonel Sieu has been helping them with their enquiries. He gives them names of the Cuban tortures who were involved and he gets to exact his revenge on the A-Team for being disgraced in his own country."

"And no doubt receiving diplomatic immunity for his own crimes committed during the war!" said Murdock scornfully."

"That's about the size of it," said Hannibal. "We also know that Lieutenant Tommy Anderson is Colonel Sieu's right-hand man and that he's working with CID to try and flush us out."

"Nice to know Stockwell did his homework!" quipped Face.

"Well actually you can thank Joanne for that piece of information," said Hannibal. "It's also thanks to her that we knew where to come looking for you. When we followed Murdock to the Sunflower Hotel everyone had jumped ship. But we found this message screwed up in the bin in her bedroom. We knew it wasn't Murdock's writing, so guessed it must have been Joanne's."

Hannibal held up a scrap of paper that had the words " _Lt_ _Angel_ " and " _Greenbrier's Bunker_ " written on it.

"Good move!" said Murdock, nodding his head in approval at Face. "She's as smart as a hooty owl, that one! Must run in the family!"

"Stockwell had heard of Greenbrier's Bunker, but didn't know it was was still being used by the Government or where it was located," continued Hannibal. Once he found out where it was from his contacts, he immediately assigned his own personal pilot to fly us over here."

"You mean you actually agreed to fly to save us, BA?" grinned Murdock. "I'm touched Big Guy!"

"I already know that, crazyman!" scowled BA. "Anyways – it weren't no big deal."

"Did you happen to come across Angel on your way in? asked Face. "He wasn't part of the welcoming committee that we left back in the Storage Facility."

"Not yet," replied Hannibal. "Frankie and some of Stockwell's men have got the entrance covered. We'll get them to sweep the joint, although I'm not sure we'll ever find him in this underground city! And even if we do, he's working for the Government now. I don't even think Stockwell has got the jurisdiction to interfere with that."

"Yeah!" growled BA. "He'll just probably just crawl back under whatever rock he came from!"

"Well I guess we better go pick up Colonel Sieu and then we can get out of here," said Hannibal.

"I've got the keys here," said Face, tossing them in Hannibal's direction. "Angel doesn't know Joanne helped us, does he?"

"Naw!" said Hannibal. "I don't see how they could find that out. We're not going to say anything to implement her."

"I wonder where she is?" pondered Face.

"Probably on a plane flying off to start her new life," said Murdock. "That's where Angel's goon was taking her."

"Oh!" said Face, not quite managing to hide his disappointment. "Despite what she did, I would have liked to have thanked her for sticking her neck on the line for us."

"Well, they didn't drive to the airport in the Pontiac," said Hannibal. "It was still in the parking bay. Angel must have suspected we'd be looking out for it. His fingerprints were all over it, which confirmed his involvement in all this."

"Probably best that she's gone," reflected Face. "From what Murdock said, she's had a pretty lousy life. I guess once you're on that program you never really get your life back again. Kind of goes with the territory."

"Stockwell said the US Marshals are pretty angry with the CID for messing with one of their witnesses," informed Hannibal. "I'm pretty sure some heads are gonna roll!"

"And maybe now Joanne will get half a chance of leading a decent life," deliberated Face.

"I'm sorry, kid," said Hannibal, putting a reassuring arm around his very forlorn-looking Lieutenant. "This didn't really turn out the way you wanted it to, did it?"

"Maybe not," said Face. "But at least I know the truth about what happened. I can put a few ghosts to rest now."

[AN: Hope to publish final chapter soon.]


	11. Chapter 11: Full circle

**Chapter 11: Full circle**

[ _Two days later_ ]

Back at Langley, things were just beginning to settle down. Angel, having no-where to run and fearful for his own life, eventually handed himself back into CID. General Stockwell personally made sure that both he and Colonel Sieu were taken back to prison under protective custody. Luckily, no-one had discovered that he had the team, so his secret collaboration with them was still intact.

As Hannibal had predicted, the US Marshals had not been very pleased that CID had interfered with one of their witnesses and there had been serious repercussions for all those who had been involved in the incident.

Murdock's injuries were healing well and things were back on track between him and Face again. Ellen had been in contact with Face and there were encouraging signs that their strained relationship was starting to mellow.

Then out of the blue, they were told that Joanne had made a request – through the Witness Program US Marshal - to see Face again. This time all the team were in attendance when they met! Hannibal insisted that they were the only people he trusted to keep Face – and each other - safe.

The meeting was set up in a quiet area of one of the local parks. Hannibal and Frankie were in the van, near enough to get to Face if there was any trouble, whilst BA and Murdock were patrolling the immediate surroundings. The newly-appointed marshal who had brought Joanne to meet Face parked his sedan next to the van and nodded officially at Hannibal, as he waited for her in the car.

Face and Joanne were sitting close by on a bench near the duck pond. Joanne ran her hand nervously through her hair, a characteristic that Face couldn't help noticing was very similar to what he would do in the same situation. After an awkward silence, Face finally broke the ice.

"What happened, did you miss your flight?" he asked, with just a touch of sarcasm.

"I never actually got on the plane," said Joanne. "I waited in the tunnel until all the passengers had boarded and when Mr Kendrick's man left the boarding lounge I came back out and rang the Program emergency number. They came and got me and took me back to one of the safe-houses."

"Oh, so are you planning on staying, then?" said Face, a glimmer of hope flickering in his eyes.

Joanne shook her head, woefully.

"I can't stay here, Richard," she said. "I'm scared of what might happen if I do. There are people after you, just like there were with AJ and Samantha. The less I know about you and who you are involved with the better. Then if anyone gets to me, I can't lead them to you. But I had to see you before I go. I couldn't leave things the way they were."

"It's okay," said Face, in a resigned voice. "I get it. You don't owe me any explanations. It's nothing that I haven't heard before."

"I just wanted you to know I'm not proud of what I did," said Joanne, tearfully. "But I'm not going to make any excuses for it now. I've spent so long blocking out past memories that I kind of forgot about the person I was before. It's hard to get close or feel a connection with anyone now. It's like my whole identity has been swept away."

Suddenly the stress and strain of her burden was too much for her to handle. She broke down into a flood of tears, crying inconsolably. Face put his arm round her and pulled her into a protective embrace. He knew exactly how she felt. After all, he was the original master of disguise! For most of his life he had surrounded himself in a web of false identities and different lifestyles. It was no easy task pretending to other people that you weren't the person they thought you were. But it was even harder admitting that to yourself.

Joanne finally pulled away from Face, dabbing at her eyes and nose with her hanky. She gazed up at Face and gave him a half-smile.

"You look very much like your momma," she said, gently taking his hand in hers.

"Is there anything you can tell me about her?" asked Face.

"We were very close as sisters," said Joanne. "She was always looking out for me. We used to tell each other everything. AJ was her first love. They were childhood sweethearts and they got married when she was only 16 when she fell pregnant with you."

"Was I the only reason they stayed together?" asked Face.

"Oh, no!" asserted Joanne. "AJ really did love Samantha and believe it or not, in the beginning he was a doting and caring father. But he was ambitious and craved for a life that was different to the one he had been given. Mama and papa knew this and tried to warn Joanne, but she wouldn't listen. They didn't go to the wedding and disowned her shortly after you were born."

Face tutted his disapproval.

"You mustn't blame them, Richard," said Joanne. "They were very strict and this went completely against their religious beliefs and upbringing. Besides, it's a decision that they had to live with many years down the line and one which they took to their graves."

"But you told Murdock that they were trying to find out where she was?" said Face.

"Yes, that's right," replied Joanne. "Samantha had made various attempts to get back in contact with us when AJ left her. In the end, when we realised how desperate she had become, my parents just wanted to bring you both home. But she was constantly on the move and eventually we lost track of her. Then we started to receive visits from the Luciano family. They were so desperate to find AJ that they started making threats towards us. They wanted us to tell them where Samantha was, because they thought that would draw AJ out of hiding."

"So your parents got the FBI involved," sighed Face. "Murdock told me what happened to the investigating officer."

"An official from the FBI came to our house and told us that Samantha was dead," said Joanne, her eyes filling up with tears again. "We were just about to have tea. He said for our own safety we had to leave because the Mob would be out for revenge. We left with nothing but the clothes we stood in and I remember mama's pasta sauce was still simmering on the stove."

"It must have been terrifying for you all," said Face softly.

"We knew you were still out there somewhere and that the Mob would have used you too as a pawn to get to AJ," continued Joanne. "But we were too terrified to try and find you, even though we knew you could be in danger. For six years we lived in fear that they would find us. The FBI moved us around from one safe-house to another. It wasn't much of a life. You didn't get much protection back then. Things got better when we got put on the Program. But it was still very surreal. You get given a new name and you spend your whole time making sure you don't reveal anything from your past to anyone. This is the first time in over 20 years that I've heard anyone calling me " _Joanne Robinson_ "."

Joanne paused briefly, as her emotions took hold of her again.

Face gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. He hated to stress her out even more, but there was so many questions he wanted to ask her about his momma.

"Murdock also said that momma died of a heroin overdose," he ventured, carefully.

"That's also true," said Joanne, sadly. "There's no easy way to tell you this, but your momma was burdened down with a lot of hang-ups in life. When she was found dead by the FBI agent, the Organisation took care of her body and made all the funeral arrangements. We couldn't even attend the service. They made arrangements for her to be buried in a church near to where she lived called The Sacred Heart Church. It was all very hush-hush. I believe they even got someone to pose as her relative, so the clergy wouldn't get suspicious."

Face's eyes widened at hearing the name of the aforementioned church. It was ironic that his momma had been laid to rest so near to where he she had left him. But he didn't say anything to Joanne as she was visibly distraught and shaken up at having to reveal this information.

The moment was interrupted by the marshal getting out of his car and waving his hand towards Joanne.

"I've got to go," she said, as she rose from the bench. "Maybe one day, when this is all over and you're a free man, we can pick up from where we left off? I'm sure you will be able to find me."

"I'd like that," said Face, getting up from the bench.

"About the money," said Joanne. "I'll put some in an account for you. You might be able to use it when this is all over."

"I don't need the money, Joanne," said Face. "You keep it. I guess you've earned it."

"Nevertheless," frowned Joanne. "It's what Samantha would have wanted."

Face shrugged his shoulders as he politely held out his hand to say good-bye. But Joanne shrugged his hand aside and pulled him into a bear-like hug.

"You were a beautiful and happy baby, Richard," she said, as she softly stroked his cheek. "My parents didn't know, but I came to see you in secret every opportunity I got. I went to Sam's wedding and your christening, even though it was against my parents' wishes. And don't ever forget that my sister loved you more than anything in the world. Her face just filled with pride every time she looked at you. She would be so proud of you."

Giving her nephew one final hug, she finally let him go and hurried over to the waiting car. As Face watched her go, that familiar feeling of lost opportunity and hope weighed down heavily on him. Seeing the team bounding towards him, their faces full of concern, he bent down and picked up some stones. He threw them at just the right angle into the water, watching them skim across the surface.

"You okay, Amigo?" enquired Murdock, as the guys gathered round him.

"I think so," replied Face, tentatively. "There's a chance here, Murdock. I'm not gonna pin my hopes on promises made in the heat of the moment, but I think we can make this work."

"And in the meantime you've still got us!" declared Murdock. "We ain't going any-where, are we Big Guy?"

"Murdock's right," assured BA. "Family ain't always about blood, Face. It's about the people in your life who want you in theirs that count."

"Why BA, what wonderful sentiments!" enthused Murdock. "You really are just the biggest, cuddliest mudsucker ever!"

"Shut up, sucker!" barked back BA.

Murdock and Frankie continued to tease BA, whilst Face watched with a relieved smile on his face, grateful for the distraction. Hannibal stood close to Face as they watched the playful banter between the three men.

"There's a grave," said Face, his voice quiet and discreet so that only Hannibal could hear.

"You wanna go there, kid?" asked Hannibal.

"Maybe one day, Hannibal," replied Face. "When the time is right. I don't wanna bring more trouble to her graveside. I reckon she had enough grief to deal with in her lifetime without me turning up with Decker in tow!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[ _Timeline: 2 January 1988 – New York City_ ]

It was the day after the team had received their pardons. Face stood in the graveyard of The Sacred Heart Church yard, armed with flowers and various gardening implements. Murdock had wanted to come with him, but this was one task that Face wanted to do on his own. He patiently stopped and read the names on all the gravestones. It was a big graveyard, but Face was not daunted in his mission in finding his momma's grave.

After a short time, he finally found what he was looking for. He was surprised to find that the grave looked relatively tidy and well-maintained. He had expected it to be overgrown with weeds and dirt.

He also noticed that extra words had been engraved on the headstone, giving the appearance that they had been added at a later date. The original wording, which had faded quite a bit in comparison to the other words just read " _Samantha Jane Bancroft (nee Robinson)_ ". But underneath that the words " _loving daughter, sister, wife and mother_ " had clearly been added.

Face knelt down on the ground and proceeded to pull out the few weeds and bits of straggly grass that had just started to sprout out. He tossed away other pieces of dirt and debris and wiped the gravestone with his handkerchief, rubbing the words slowly with much care and reverence.

He placed the flowers on her grave and leant back. Closing his eyes he bowed his head in silent reflection.

"Merciful Jesus!" exclaimed a voice behind him. "If it isn't little Alvin Brennar!"

Face opened his eyes and jumped up all in one startled, automatic movement. There wasn't many people in his life who had called him by that name. It was the name that the Irish priest at the orphanage had given him. In fact … no it couldn't be … could it?

"Father Magill!" he spluttered, as recognition finally hit home. He looked incredulously at the old man standing before him. The last time he had seen the priest was when he had visited him on his sickbed some years back during one of their first missions as soldiers of fortune. He had been so poorly, Face didn't think he would ever see him again.

"In the flesh!" announced Father Magill.

"I can't believe it," said Face in astonishment. "You were so ill when I last saw you. I didn't think you were going to make it."

"Well, you'll be pleased to know that there's life in the old dog yet!" chucked Father Magill. "I've retired from the priesthood now, of course, but I'm still very much attached to the church and the people in this community."

"Is it you who has been tending to my momma's grave?" asked Face.

"You might say, I made a promise to look after it for someone," said Father Magill. "T'was a fine-looking woman who moved into the parish about eight months' ago. She came to Sunday service every week and spent countless hours tidying up your mom's grave. I remember she had a disturbed look in her eyes that would have put the fear of God in the devil himself."

"Father, this is very important," said Face, urgently. "I think I know who the woman is. Can you tell we where I can find here?"

"Ah, my boy," sighed Father Magill. I believe she's finally in a place where she can be at peace with herself and the world."

"What do you mean?" said Face, a sudden feeling of dread overpowering his body. "Where is she, Father?"

Father Magill pointed to a grave that was positioned a few feet away from his mom's, bearing the name " _Joanne Marie Robinson"._

"Oh, no!" cried Face in a distressed voice. "Please, God, no!"

"She spoke about you often," said Father Magill, putting a comforting hand on Face's shoulder. "It took a while to gain her confidence, but we became staunch friends in the end. Especially when we discovered we had you in common. She didn't have many friends as far as I could tell and no family contacts with anyone. She liked to keep herself to herself."

"What happened to her?" said Face.

"She had a massive stroke," said Father Magill. "She was such a jittery little thing. Lived on her wits and her nerves, so she did."

"Then I'm too late," said Face shaking his head sadly.

"She never gave up hope that one day you'd find your way back here," said Father Magill. "She lived a simple life and didn't have many possessions that were worth anything. That is, except for a vintage floral necklace and a paper bag full of money left to her by the CID!"

"That money was supposed to be for her," lamented Face. "So she could set herself up in her new life."

"Well, I don't think the money meant that much to her in the end," surmised Father Magill. "I think being with her sister and the hope that one day you would come back into her life, was worth much more to her. She asked me to keep the items safe. Just in case she couldn't give them to you herself. They're back in the house and you can come and collect them anytime you want."

"OK, Father," said Face. "Can I just have a few moments here alone?"

"Certainly, my boy," said Father Magill. "You'll be knowing where to find me?"

"Sure, Father, I remember," said Face.

Father Magill patted Face's shoulder affectionately, before leaving the young man alone with his thoughts. Face continued to stare at Joanne's grave, shaking his head in sorrow. It was then that his eyes were drawn to a short inscription that was etched underneath her name:

" _Those we love don't fade away. They walk beside us every day._ "

He smiled, sadly. It was if she had written the words especially for him. Because he knew that at last his momma and her sister had found each other again. And in their reunion, he felt a presence and a love that would stay with him forever.

 ** _Fini_**

[ _AN: Thanks to everyone (reviewers and faithful followers) for reading and sticking with the story. I have really enjoyed reading all the reviews and comments and made some new friends along the way._ _Special thanks to LAGC -_ _you know I wouldn't have finished this if you hadn't spurred me on – gracias muchacha!_ ]


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